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Nice little hostel

When i stayed in Hong Kong i stayed in the New China Guest House, Kowloon Bay, it was for the main reason that it was cheap but also because it is in a prime location of Hong Kong, right amidst the action.You'll find dozens upon dozens of hostels in the Kowloon Bay area and to be honest there's not a great deal of difference between any of them. For those on a budget this particular guest house would suit you find, but there are probably better ones out there if you have the time to research.To find the hostel is quite a daunting task. We were walking up and down on the exact spot where the map said it was shouting infuriatedly, "It says it's here!" yet we were outside a disgusting market place. After about half an hour of walking around not finding anything we went inside this market place, avoiding the bums and squalor. To our amazement, wandering through the market stalls for about 15 minutes, we stumbled upon a lift in the back, which took you to a number of different hostels on the above floors. We may sound stupid but there was no indication we'd find the place hidden in the back of a market. And it did seema bit dodgy.The hostel itself was okay. Our room was tiny, God knows how they'd managed to cram two beds in there (actually i do know, they were Chinese people beds. About 4 feet long) and an ensuite but they did. It was relatively clean and well kept, but it's a hostel, not a hotel. Keep that in mind. It's not a place you could spend more than a few minutes in without feeling claustrophobic or depressed.The subway is right on it's doorstep, which will you take you anywhere you need to go, but such is the location you can walk to most of the places recommended in Hong Kong, such as the Star Ferry. There is also a nice little Irish pub in the basement next door if you fancy some non-Cantonese grub and beer.In conclusion it's great place if all you're after is a good location and not bothered about standard. If you're a bit of a snob look elsewhere.

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A decent enough hostel for the money spent.

I visited Hong Kong in the summer of 2009 while exploring the Far East. Like any student my bank balance is often less than healthy, so when I visited Hong Kong staying in Youth Hostels was my only option. I stayed in the Ah Shan Hostel for approximately £10 a night. I choose it because of its good rating on the TripAdvisor website. I think the 1 star my fellow reviewers have given is a bit harsh, you do not go to these hostels expecting 5 star luxury, in Hong Kong that will be hundreds if not thousands of pounds a night.

Firstly, I must say it is very difficult to find! Based on Argyle Street, it is a short walk from Mong Kok MTR station. However, as it is in a residential block there are no signs for it, I'd advise you to ask local shop keepers for directions. It is useful to have the address in Chinese and English for this purpose. Once you find the right door to go into there is a very helpful doorman you will direct you to the lift and ensure you get to the right level. Make sure you go to floor 14 as there are many small hostels about who I'm sure would be willing to take your money off of you but how safe they are who knows. On the 14 floors you get an appreciation of life in Mong Kok, it has a population density of 130,000 people per square kilometre! One evening next door from the hostel office, there was even a choir practice going on.

The hostels office is close to the lift where the owner who speaks little English will happily help you to your room. I stayed in a room of 4 with two bunk beds, a television and a telephone. There was also a toilet (thankfully a Western style toilet in a country where a hole in the floor is common place) and a shower, both in a very small room so be sure to put the toilet seat down while you have a shower. All rooms have air-conditioning, a must in Hong Kong. There is bed linen provided and the rooms and bed where cleaned daily. The rooms do not have a safe so ensure you do not leave any valuables in your room. I would advise a money belt and carry money and your passport around in that even if your room has a safe. The hostels main office provides free internet access.

The main benefit of this hostel is its location. It has a variety of shops close by, it is also opposite the famous Ladies Market and it also has a few 24hr McDonalds to satisfy Western tastes. However, Hong Kong is a city with a population of over 7 million and it this 24hr lifestyle means it never sleeps. I would advise in a good pair of ear plugs or ensure you get a room that is near a road as you should otherwise be prepared for some noise throughout your stay.

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Only if you are on such a tight budget that money matters above all else

Quality matches price in this run down hostel. The rooms are tiny and although not dirty they are not kept very clean either. Also in the heat there is only one small fan that is barely enough to circulate the air, never mind keep people cool.

The hostel seems to have few travellers in it but rather poor businessmen and locals. There are lockers but some were broken into whilst I was staying there so it doesn´t seem very secure. There was no key to the room and so anyone could come in day or night. There was also no common areas and both the owners and the other guests were unfriendly. The location was quite good if you don´'t mind staying in Kowloon, it was a 5 mintue walk to the harbour and ferry across to Hong Kong island itself.

The one huge advantage of this hostel is price-it is extremely cheap. If you are on a tight budget and don't mind slumming it then you will get a roof and a bed for the night if not much more. However, you have to put up with scruffiness, lack of security and dodgy roommates so it could be worth paying more to go elsewhere.

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Dirty, disgusting and not worth doing

After travelling around the world last year, visiting 29 countries and staying in hostels in most of them, my experience of hostels in Hong Kong was the worst I experienced.

From looking at various websites and hostel world we found the following hostel which was described as

"This is a renowned hostel in the heart of the city, with newly renovated rooms and in-room facilities bringing you to a cosy home away from home"Ok that souds great and it also scores highly for ratings on the hostel world website (ratings given for cleanliness, Character, security, location, staff and fun). The hostel was also recommended by an AA travel guide book that we had been given as a present. So everything is sounding great. When we look at the price it was the cheapest or one of them anyway. So we booked this hostel thinking we were getting a great deal. So we booked a 12 bed room to hopefully met loads of other travellers who would be doing a similar route to us.

This however is where the fun starts.

Upon arrival we got the tight lift upto the 13th floor to met the reception desk in the middle of nowhere. Upon arrival we were shown to the room. I'm going to break the my review down into the rating sections that hostel world do, so first up is and the number given is the score i gave it on the hostelworld website (NB 20% is the lowest you can give)

cleanliness - 20%

My girflfriend was bitten to death by bed bugs. The solution to this problem was to change the sheet on the mattress. However the problem remained as the issue was the mattress. Other guests of the hostel also reported simiar problems.

The rooms were never cleaned and if you walked in your room without shoes on your feet are dirty. Bins are also never emptied.

Character - 20%

Located on the 13th floor of an ugly tower block - next section please.....

Security - 20%

Upon arrival one of the first things to deal with is your passport and tickets and where to store them. We asked the manager if there was somewhere secure to store them, the answer was "keep them with you at all times". Now i didnt fancy carry everything I had all day in the Hong Kong heat, but this attirtude was just an embarrassment.

Our door didnt lock and acted as a walk through to a local laundry business therefore if anything went missing we had no-idea who might have taken it.

Location - 60%

Its one saving grace, right in the heart of kowloon and has easy access to shops, sights and bars etc. But its located at the top of a ugly building so cant score to highly.

Staff - 20%

See securty. But also the toilet in our room broke and the woman did nothing to help us. We had no water for showers for 2 of our six nights at the hostel.

We also saw the manager making fake bookings for the hostel so that he could give it excellent ratings! hence why it looks good on websites.

Fun - 20%

No common room, no kitchen, no TV's. As I said our room was a walkway and therefore we had no control over when we could turn the lights out but it was the workers who choose when they had finished - one night was 1am!

Our room also acted as the internet room so we had people on the internet until the early hours and then from the early hours in the morning.

This hostel operates under five different names including- USA Hostel- Garden Hostel- New Kowloon

Itr also has one more hostel name that escapes my memory. This place is a dump and if your every staying a night in Hong Kong in budget accomodation do not stay here.

Hong kongs sights are also not brilliant. The nightly light show was certainly missable, The stay ferry journey to HK island lasted 5 mins. The history museem was better as were the parks of HK. We didnt try to do al the sights in HK but we managed to 5 out of the 25 in 2 hours which i think says it all.

Shopping is not what it used to be as it is all designer clothes outlets which of course we couldnt afford.

However we are led to believe that all cheap accomodation in Hong Kong is very, vey basic. The AA book simply says that the hardest of travellers use the fact that they have stayed in a hostel in Hong Kong as a bragging right.. This is easily the worst hostel we have stayed in and hopefully this will discourage any other travllers from staying at this place or even using Hong Kong as a stop off to South East Asia. Go from Beijing or go directly to Bangkok, Hanoi or Laos. Hong Kong is really not worth visiting on a tuight budget. If you have plenty of cash to spend you will probably get a different impression of Hong Kong.